My husband and I are going to Italy for the first time in early May, 2008. We are thinking of a few days in Rome, then taking the train to Venice. 2 days in Venice, then taking the train or driving to Tuscany, where we plan to stay in a villa for the week, taking day trips. We would appreciate any thoughts on places to stay, restaurants, or other valuable advice for novices. Thanks!

Venice hotel www.lacalcina.com

It's always helpful if you provide an idea of your hotel budget and clues to the type of lodging and dining you prefer.

In Rome, there are many sights for which reservations are required or highly recommended. Once you've decided what you want to see, come back here and let us know. Many can provide helpful strategies for reservations, timing, etc.

I hope you mean two full days in Venice (three nights). If you were thinking just two nights in Venice, then you would only have one full day. The train ride from Rome followed by transport to your hotel in Venice will take about six hours.

For Tuscany, what places do you plan to visit on your day trips? That would be good to know before anyone makes lodging recommendations.

misa,
Send me an e-mail and I will send you some day trip ideas for Tuscany. It is too long to post.

My trip report may be of help http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35046872

Henry

Jean,

Thanks for your note. I will be looking for higher end lodging, but I don't need anything posh. With the devalued dollar, I guess I will need to plan on $200/night (or more?). We especially enjoy fish and vegetarian restaurants -- don't eat meat often.
In Tuscany, we'd like to visit Florence and Cinque Terra for a start. We enjoy hiking, and my husband loves to bike, so we plan to spend some time outdoors, as well.

mlsa

I echo Jean's comment about two days in Venice not being enough. I stayed 4 days in Venice, 4 days in Florence and 5 days in Rome and could easily have used more time.

La Calcina in Venice gets a lot of good reviews, but I stayed at Hotel do Pozzi about a block from St. Mark's, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I took a side trip from Florence to Pisa, which I also enjoyed. As a solo traveler I tend to eat on the run and had some of the best pizza at the Pisa train station.

In Rome, I hope to return to the Hotel Alimandi some day -- it's a block from the entrance to the Vatican Museum, with nice rooms, internet access and one of the best breakfast buffets I've ever had.

Despite recommendations on this board to avoid touristy places for dining, I had one of the best meals ever at Piazza Navona. I believe the restaurant's name was Cafe Tucci. I've been searching for recipes for Pasta Carbonara ever since and have tried a few I've found on line, but the memory lingers.

We loved Pensonie Acadamia. I may not have the spelling right but it was formerly the Russian Embassy and is located at the Acadamia bridge and meusum. (My spelling is getting worse.) We had a wonderful room on the first floor with a large bath. Best breakfast in Italy and wonderful staff. Made the reservation early January for late May trip....but we got lucky...there was a cancellation. We also went to Cinque Terre on the train from Venice. 3 nights there then got a car and drove all over Tuscany. Such a beautiful trip. Be sure to go to San Gim in Tuscany.

Hi M,

Your initial rough itinerary sounds great, but I agree that you should add a day to Venice. There is much to see and do once you finish with Piazza San Marco!

Cinque Terre would be a bit difficult as a day trip from Tuscany. Takes a little while to get there. You might want to visit it after Venice and before Tuscany. 2 days is OK, or more depending on what you want to do. We stayed 3 days in Santa Margherita Ligure and would have liked one more!

As for a base for Tuscany, it's very hard to choose. Northern, to see Florence, Chianti, Siena and maybe San Gimignano, Volterra....

Southern to see Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino.....

Orvieto (Umbria) is wonderful, right on the way to Roma!

May is the perfect time. The wheat fields of Tuscany will be bright green and the red popplies blooming. Get your reservations now!

Buon viaggio

Sadly, $200 per night hotel is not presently "higher end" due to the sad state of the dollar, and it is a particularly modest budget for Venice. If you meant 200 euros, that will give you more options, which it should at nearly $300 a night. La Calcina in Venice is $234 a night for a double without view, and Pensione Accademia is over $300.

Several have told you to add days to Venice, to the Cinque Terre, etc., but how many days to you have in total? Are you wedded to the idea of a week in a villa in Tuscany? How will you book your flights -- into Rome and out of where?

You'll have no trouble finding fish, especially in Venice and Rome, and it's easy to order a non-meat meal. Entirely vegetarian restaurants exist but are somewhat hard to find.

Thank you all for your input. I am realizing that Jean is correct -- the hotels will be much more than I had stated, now that I am starting to look more closely.

We have a total of two weeks in Italy. We are not wedded to the idea of a villa in Tuscany, just thought it would be a nice way to experience the area. It sounds like a stay in Cinque Terra and a town in another part of Tuscany would be a good alternative to a villa.

Please keep the suggestions coming! Thanks!

Hi M,

With 2 weeks this is what I would recommend. I'm one of those who likes a mix of cities and countryside, and prefers moving vs. lots of backtracking driving.

Fly in to Venice - 3 nights

train to Tuscany & pick up car

Tuscany 6 or 7 nights in 1 or 2 locations - drop car

train to Rome - 4 nights

I would visit Tuscany over the CT in May just be cause Tuscany is so beautiful in May! Or, you could split that week between CT and Tuscany.

Places I've stayed where I was very happy:

Santa Margherita Ligure - Hotel Laurin 3* right on the marina, easy train/boat access to Portofino & CT

Chianti - Hotel Residence San Sano, 4* in a TINY village in Chianti, 20 min north of Siena

Orvieto - Palazzo Piccolomini, 4*. Orvieto is one of my favorite towns. Worth more than a day trip, but doable in long day/evening if that's all you have.

Montalcino - Hotel Il Giglio, 3*. Lovely views, great value. It's all about the Brunello!

Oops,

Rome - Hotel Giardino Rome, 2*. Great location, cozy, extremely friendly and helpful owner, Katie.